On the Hunt for Pula’s Sea Cave

After seeing some incredible photos on Instagram of a random sea cave in Croatia, we knew we had to find it. By scouring comments, talking to locals, and hunting on google maps, we figured out an approximate location and we went on the hunt…

Part of me feels like I’m breaking some kind of cave hunting code by sharing this, since there is some excitement in finding it on your own. But I was super frustrated by the lack of information out there when I was starting my search. I want more people to be able to experience the cave, because it’s just that cool.

So without further ado, here’s a map to show you how to get to the blue cave in Pula:

The cave is located outside of the city of Pula on the Istrian peninsula of Croatia. Fairly easy to get to, we drove as close as we could, then walked the rest of the way. We saw a few people here and there along the walk enjoying the water, cliff jumping, and fishing.

The Directions

Park your carWe left our car at in a little grassy area by the water where other cars were parked (marked with the “P” icon on the map) and walked the rest of the way.

Walk along the coast
Walk south of the parking area along the water and you’ll come across a walking path. We marked our path in yellow on the map. Just stay along the coast and eventually you’ll come to a part of the path that will head down to the water. You’ll then walk across some rocks that are actually the roofs of the caves.

Go into the last cave before the fence
The cave you want is the last one in the row, right before you hit a fence. You can hike down the rocks to a little area to jump into the water. Or you can jump straight off the top like some of the crazy people we saw.

These are the rocks you will walk over. Many people were jumping from the top!

This is THE cave entrance, not quite as pretty from the outside

Swim inside and look out! The sunlight lights up the cave

We don’t recommend trying to get to the cave from the west side or to drive down any of the other roads further on the peninsula, as the rest of the peninsula is a military area. You can’t gain access to any of the roads and even if you could, there are armed guards patrolling the area.

We went in mid-afternoon, and stayed until dusk. Depending on the light, the cave will look very different. You want the light to be shining into the cave to create that amazing glowing effect.

There’s is an easier way to get to the Grotte Von Pula. There’s a parking lot in the camp grounds right off of the loop labeled Fizela. Park in the back near the “art exhibit” follow the steps down to the water and then continue to the fence that’s mentioned.

The cave itself is pretty isolated. We didn’t see anywhere nearby to rent kayaks. There are groups that do kayak there but we just hiked in and swam. If you want to rent snorkel equipment, you’re probably best off finding a tour company in Pula beforehand.